Mothers stories

Mothers stories

Stories by mothers

These are real stories. Each woman describes how she survived and managed to care for her children while dealing with an abusive partner. With support, each of these women found ways to change the situation. Read these inspiring stories to learn from their experiences and advice.

Donna’s story

Donna’s relationship began like a fairytale romance, but then developed into a nightmare. Her partner’s angry, aggressive behaviour also affected her children. After one incident in which she was almost killed, Donna left with her children, fearing for her life. Though being a single parent isn’t easy, she says she is now more able to be a caring, fun parent to her children. Donna provides some useful tips for women in similar situations.

Jenna’s story

Jenna’s partner never hit her, but with his constant criticisms, intimidation and demands, her life came to revolve around making him happy. He would encourage their children to ignore her, and his favouritism towards one of their daughters created conflict. Jenna began to see how much his attitude was affecting her daughters. She told him she was leaving, and applied for an Intervention Order. Although it has been difficult, life is easier now than it was living day-to-day with her partner’s abuse and control.

‘A story about me’

In this story, one woman describes how her partner tried to control everything, leaving her feeling powerless. He also tried to damage her relationship with her son. After one frightening incident in which he threatened that she would never see her son again, she realised she had to leave. She describes the steps she took in planning her escape to a women’s refuge, her experience of the Family Court, and how she was then able to return to the family home where she began to build a new life with her son.

The views or opinions expressed in websites linked to this site, or in articles not specifically written by the Domestic Violence Resource Centre Victoria do not necessarily reflect the views of the organisation.